The 2015 Summer Event (barbecue) was hosted by the President, Richard Woolley, at King Charles I School on Saturday 20th June.
I remembered to spell 'barbecue' correctly this year, as Ken Ryder is a bigger man and a better grammarian than I. An ironic roasting from Ken is to be avoided at all costs.
How is it that the Old Carolians Association Committee avoids the dates of Wimbledon and Glastonbury, but still falls foul of the vagaries of the British weather? The weather in the preceding week had been warm and sunny, but the forecasts never seem to be entirely accurate. Saying 'there will be heavy thundery showers, but many places will miss them' is not particularly helpful. There are still too many of the Michael Fish variety at the Met Office.
A working party of stalwart able-bodied volunteers met in the Rose Garden on the afternoon of 20th June to erect the marquees. It was warm and muggy, but with menacing black clouds above. There seemed to be hundreds of aluminium poles to joint together if the huge tent was to be successful, and, if you had thrown all of our ideas together into a computer, you would have come out with 'Don't bother, lads'. Needless to say, we eventually worked it all out; the sore fingers and obscene curses were ignored; and the large nylon roof was fixed above the frame in all the right places. And then the heavens opened with a monsoon for ten minutes. Another shower followed shortly afterwards. Nevertheless, the intrepid gang carried on assembling the second vast tent until they realised that they did not have the plastic joints for roof of the structure. It was not surprising, therefore, that the barbecue was moved to the large covered picnic area between the Blounts and Old Buildings.
A barbecue is made successful by the people attending, by the chefs and by the entertainment everyone creates. The chefs, Peter Picken, Dave Laverty and their team, once again gave Gordon Ramsey a run for his money, with a lot less effing and blinding. The music was decidedly 60s, with some excellent Mantovani, Ella Fitzgerald and other classics from the library of President Richard Woolley. A suggestion from a guest that we should put on some 'Inkspots' caused consternation. First, who has heard of them and how could we promote that name in this crazy era of political correctness? I still have fond memories of my loveable golliwog. All the delicious meats were accompanied by a variety of salads provided by the wives of Committee members. Bottles of Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Prosecco, Banks's Mild and 'Old Speckled Hen' clanked on the table cloths, and many cheered as Bairstow hit the winning runs to defeat the All Blacks up at Durham - a somewhat surprising achievement. Can Ashes' success be all that far behind? We shall see. A raffle raised over £120 and over 50 guests, including, we were pleased to see, a group of Old Carolians at least 40 years younger than most of us, praised a splendid evening. Who wants to watch 'Casualty' and 'John Bishop', anyway?
'Captain' Peter Vaughan, Entertainment Correspondent